Chevy Volt a Failure - GM to Layoff 1,300

I don't post on this thread but have been following it from the beginning with great interest. This got passed along to me today ... I wonder what you all think about it: http://www.upworthy.com/see-the-scientific-accident-that-may-change-the-world-or-at-least-your-battery-l

 

Great link, HC. Thanks. And it answers in part Boom's napkin.

I'm not sure, even with the present technology, that my Fast-Az supercharger stations would sell time at the pump, so much as it would sell kilowatts in the increments EV owners want to buy them. Just like selling gas by the gallon.

In the northeast one kilowatt hour of juice sells for about .20 cents. How do we resell that to EV owners? And how much markup do we take to pay for our infrastructure and operating costs and some little profit? Charge .50 cents/kWH? .35? .75? I think there's a market price people would bear, and one just beyond it they would not.

(And don't forget we'll be getting some help from the big car manufacturers and the power company and likely the government, too, to help defray our initial costs.)

I'd therefore guess that the business model for the back of any napkin is almost exactly that of a gas station.

And because I know Boom looks for good investment opportunities, I'll let him in on the ground floor of my Fast-Az recharge valet, parking and detailing chain, which will have a stand at every station along the New Haven line to recharge, park, clean and return commuters' station cars.

 

If we add an Allen Edmunds shoe shine and repair center I think that we have a winner AZ. I would be concerned though at the cost of land on New Haven line in Fairfield County.

One problem with charging though is that it negates the central selling point savings on fuel. As 93 wrote he is looking to eliminate his monthly fuel bill and put it towards cost of car payment.

 

The press release.

newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-researchers-develop-new-graphene-230478.aspx

"UCLA researchers from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and the California NanoSystems Institute demonstrate high-performance graphene-based electrochemical capacitors that maintain excellent electrochemical attributes under high mechanical stress. The paper is published in the journal Science."

Then way down at the bottom:

"The CNSI was established in 2000 with $100 million from the state of California."

 

He can fill up for $10, and still have change left over for a slice of our Fast-Az / Sally's pizza.

 

Not sure how much business there would be at railroad station commuter lots. in theory wouldn't these folks be charging their commuter
cars overnight at their house? Why would they need another charge?

 

In theory. But we'd be filling that high-end, high touch niche for the landed and forgetful 1%.

And for the suspenders-and-a-belt cautious.

And for folks who live 35 miles from the train station.

Fast-Az Concierge and Kilowatt Garage.

Go. Take it. Make millions!

 

This is such a fascinating topic. I still remember the little shit-box electric cars they tried to market in the 1970's. A guy that lived down the street had one of these:

http://electricandhybridcars.com/index.php/pages/CitiCar.html

Look back to then and look at what they can do now. The technology has come a very long way and I hope, like cell phones, the advancement in technology picks up speed like it did with cell phones...my first celly was a big, boxy number that cost $500 and was a ton of money per minute, something like $4.99. Now they are cheap and can do everything, not 10 years later.

The thing is, unless they can make batteries with longer ranges that are much quicker to charge these cars are never going to be sensible for the average driver. Right now there is no way I would buy an electric car, or flex fuel vehicle because they do not make economic sense. But the technology could be there in the near future. I hope.

 

Public editor weighs in on Broder's "not especially" good judgment.

publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/problems-with-precision-and-judgment-but-not-integrity-in-tesla-test/

And just to clarify, Broder's an environment and energy/politics journalist, not a car guy. That's the only reason I questioned his bona fides.

 

And some folks have retraced that drive to debunk Broder's test.

www.examiner.com/article/cnn-journalists-prove-john-broder-wrong-by-driving-tesla-model-s-over-same-route

cleantechnica.com/2013/02/16/tesla-model-s-owners-decide-to-show-how-john-broder-should-have-test-driven-the-model-s/